


The Secret Diary of Rose Tyler

by Time_Lady_Galadriel (Bashynx)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-09 20:58:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bashynx/pseuds/Time_Lady_Galadriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose is trapped in parallel universe with no chance to see the Doctor again. As she tries to move on, the TARDIS materializes in Tyler's house. But inside, she doesn't find only the Doctor, but also his sworn enemy, the Master himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**20th November 2008**

_Once upon a time there was a man. He was very brave and he looked very, very sexy. His name was the Doctor. There are many legends about him... and I've been in many of them. Most of them say that he was there when the Titanic sank, that he was throwing boxes into the sea at Boston tea party. He was there at the Fall of Byzantium, when Nero burned Rome, when Troy was destroyed. And he is still here saving the human race, day after day, year after year._

_And you wanna know how it is possible? It's easy. He is an alien. He is from a very powerful race. Time Lords. I know that may sound little crazy, but it is true. I was his companion. He can travel anywhere in time and space in his spaceship. In his TARDIS._

_Once he said that time-traveling is like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide-book. You have to throw yourself in, eat the same food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing a complete stranger._

_I know it's true. He opened my eyes._

_He was a complete stranger for me a few years ago. He just said to me "Run" and we never stopped since then. Until a few months ago. There was an invasion of Cybermen, and I lost. My dad saved my life, but I still lost the Doctor and that hurts more than anything else._

_I ended up in the parallel world with my family and friends, but without my love._

_I have a new job, in Torchwood, where my dad is the boss. I lead my own team. I am responsible for many people and that helps me forget what I will never have again. Him._

_Nobody can fill the gap he left._

* * *

She closed her diary and stood up. She was crying again. She had enough of crying. She just wanted the sadness to end. She needed to find the way to travel back to him. That is why she was in Torchwood the first place.

She dried her face and left her office.


	2. Surprise, Surprise!

"Hi, Mum, I am home."

"Hello, Sweetie," her mum shouted from kitchen. "How was work today?"

"Good, but nothing interesting happened," she answered, now standing near to her mother looking for something she could help with. "And how was your day? Shouldn't you be in bed like the doctor said...?"

She looked at her mother sadly.

Her mom quickly said, "It was fine. I am OK now. I keep telling you it a lot, but you don't listen to me."

"We are worried about you and the baby."

"So don't be. I'm fine, I am always fine."

"OK," she raised her hands as if giving up. "I am going upstairs. When you need something, just call me and I will be here as quick as I can. OK?"

"OK... be downstairs by seven," she smiled and Rose went to her room.

It was a big square room with a big bed in the middle. There was a table and lot of shelves, too. She had a balcony where a small tea table and chairs were, but she never used it.

She headed to the bathroom. She needed a shower, or perhaps a bath instead. She wanted to think. After the bath, she just lay in bed holding her diary, looking at the patterns on it. The cover was black with gold spirals, and reminded her a bit of the Doctor regenerating. She started to feel empty again, and then she heard a window breaking, her mother shouting and something that sounded like the TARDIS. Instantly she was on her feet, running toward the sound. She didn't even know she could run so fast. "Doctor?" she shouted as she ran.

"Yes?" a well-known voice with north accent asked. She was shocked when she saw him. It wasn't HER Doctor. It was the Doctor she met first, but she could bet he didn't know her.

Who are you?" he asked and wave of sadness came over her.

"My name is Rose Tyler..."

"Rose, what is happening? Didn't you say he changed his face? That he regenerated?" Her mother was in kitchen, shocked. A strange man was holding her hands behind her back.

He had short blond hair and brown eyes.

"What is happening?" Rose said and the Doctor just looked shocked.

"Take the girl, Doctor," the man who was holding her mother said and the Doctor nodded.

"She has a lot of explaining to do." He grabbed her hands roughly, using a strength that her Doctor never would. He pulled her to the Police Box, but it wasn't the one she knew. It was red. And it was different on the inside, too.

"I'm in my nightgown. Can I change first?" she asked. She smiled at her mum, who was obviously scared to death. "I will be okay, Mum." Still in shock, her mother stood silently in the kitchen, her mouth hanging open.

"You will change in the TARDIS and right after that you will tell us what the hell you were talking about and how it is possible that you know my name."

"OK, no problem. But you tell me first, who the hell are you?" She pointed at the man she didn't know.

"My name is the Master."

She stepped back.


	3. Run!

"No other questions. I want to know what you know... or something bad could happen to you."

He was blackmailing her! Her Doctor. She wanted to cry but she couldn't.

"My name is Rose Tyler and where I came from, you loved me, or at least, I think you did... and I loved you." She was almost crying. She took a deep breath. "We were traveling, you and I, and you told me about the Master. You told me he is evil!"

"That he is what?" the Doctor asked angrily.

She ignored him. "I don't really know a lot about you two, but I do know that the Doctor was the Master's friend once and that the Master was like brother to him. But then he went mad and betrayed the Doctor and since then they were mad at each other. I don't understand how you two can be together!"

"That doesn't matter. Where are you from?"

"From London."

"But not from this universe, am I right? How did you come here? Your Doctor brought you here so he could get rid of you?"

The Master touched his shoulder. "Doctor..." he said quietly and gently.

"Don't interrupt!" He didn't even look at him. "How did you get here? Answer!"

She was scared of him. She actually was! She could understand the fear his enemies felt now. He really was the Oncoming Storm. You couldn't tell what he would do.

"A rift. There was one in London. Me and the Doctor, we were trying to close it, but something went wrong and I almost fell into the Void. My Dad who lived in parallel universe saved me. I ended up in that universe without him. Without my Doctor."

"You had a dad in the parallel universe? How is that possible?"

"My dad from my universe died. I was there, by the way. You helped me. And when we went to this world for the first time, I found out he lived. He was with Jackie Tyler too, but they didn't have me. Then his wife died and he ended up with my mother. He sort of adopted me. Where are we going?"

"You are not in position of asking questions, but I will tell you. We are going to Gallifrey. To my home. We will show you to the Family."

"To Gallifrey, of course! We will show you to the Family." He smiled. "They will love new meat."

"What is the Family?"

"You will see."

"Tell me!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to know."

"Master... Help me out?" the Doctor asked, and they walked towards her. This wasn't going to be good. She knew it wasn't going to be good. And she wasn't going to withdraw without a fight. Something inside her was shouting at her, "Run!" She turned to the door nearest to her and ran through it.

She ran down a long, winding corridor. She knew that as long as she was hiding, she would be safe. And when she was safe, she could find a way to escape.

She started to run as fast as she could. There were many doors in the corridor. The Doctor's room, the Master's room, old control rooms... She wanted to see those rooms but she couldn't stop.

After a minute of running she started to discover what she needed. Empty rooms with unmarked doors. She hid in one of them. Although she expected it would be empty, it wasn't.


	4. Let's play hide and seek

At first there was a bright light, and then she saw her, a little girl who looked twelve years old. She had beautiful, curly golden hair and big blue eyes.

"Hi…" Rose didn't know what to say.

"Hello, Rose," the girl smiled with a cute smile. "Come in, I have a place for you." The girl pointed at the sofa in the corner of the room.

Rose hasn't seen a stranger looking room before. Well, if she didn't count Doctor's room in the TARDIS. There were many placards and books. It was a mixture of colors and different styles but it didn't look very bad. The sofa was black with yellow and red pillows. It had a tea table on which were two cups of tea, sugar, milk and biscuits.

"How come you know my name?" she asked a minute after they sat.

"That is a long story and I don't have the time. They will be here soon." Her smile disappeared and she immediately got a stony look on her face. She didn't look so young anymore.

"Who? And who are you, anyway?" Rose didn't know what to think. She had another day at work, and when she came home, the TARDIS materialized in her living room and she found the Doctor and the Master in it. After a while they started to be dangerous and there was a little girl hiding in one of the TARDIS's rooms. A totally normal day.

"My dad and the Master." Rose almost choked on the tea she was drinking.

"Wait!... You are not..." she started.

"Yes, I am the daughter of the Doctor. My name is Ann." Rose put her cup on the tea table. She could see it now. The girl was a bit like her Doctor. Brave, clever and a bit weird.

"How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-two." Rose looked at her in disbelief. "I am a Time Lady, we age different than you. I know you are confused and scared." She opened her mouth to deny it but Ann raised her hand to stop her. "I know you are, deep down. Now listen, I need you to know that this Doctor you've met in here isn't as bad as you think. He's just been through some tough years. You can trust the Master. He is on your side." She stopped for a second and then she told her quickly,"You need to go now, they are getting closer. I will get to you, now go! That door." She pointed at one of three doors which Rose hadn't noticed before.

She stood up and walked towards them. Then she turned to Ann. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because I know I can trust you. I know you will help my dad. Go!" Ann cried and Rose went through the door and closed it. She heard the door open in the next room, so she put her ear to the door.

"Was she in here?" the Doctor asked.

"Who should be in here?"

"Blond girl named Rose." His voice started to sound a bit impatient.

"I don't know about any roses but I have seen a blond girl." Rose's heart started to pound. She stepped back from the door and looked around. She realized that she was in a console room. When she had been here earlier, she had been too confused by the TARDIS landing in her house so she hadn't really been looking. This console room was so different and modern... It was circular and there weren't many things to see. Just a console and two seats. Hexagon-shaped grey lines covered the white walls.

The doors to Ann's room were opposite the main doors to the TARDIS. On her right side was a big round screen and on her left was an open red door she had run through a while ago.

"And where is the blond girl now?" the Master's voice asked.

"She is hiding."

"Where is she hiding?!" the Doctor was impatient and he was almost shouting.

"I... she is there." She sounded scared and Rose could see why.

Rose decided to go to the corridor and she still couldn't believe that Ann betrayed her. The door was opening but she heard Ann say, "Not this door, the next one." The door closed and Rose felt relieved. Ann didn't betray her at all. She could trust her.

The control room was quiet for a while when the door opened once more. She was still at the start of the corridor so the newcomer wouldn't see her, and she looked into the control room. The Master was standing there, looking around. He looked at her. He looked right into her eyes and she hid back behind the edge.

There was something in his eyes that made her feel even more confused than she had been. Those eyes were so kind. Like the Doctor's.

"I don't wanna hurt you," he said and she heard him step closer. "I am not like him. I just want your help. We need to help the Doctor."

She took a breath and stepped to the control room. He was just a few steps from her. She could see his green eyes. These weren't the eyes of a mad man who killed many people. These eyes were the eyes of a good man.

He had short blond hair and he was wearing a black hoodie. "I am in my gown, aren't I?" She smiled and she felt her cheeks were red.

"Don't worry, we will find something for you and we can talk on our way." He led her through the door to the corridor. They stopped at the doors with the 'Wardrobe' sign.

"So what do I need to know?" she asked, going through the stuff inside, looking for something comfortable and nice.

"I think you should know something before we talk about the Doctor." He did a little pause in his speech. "I am the Master you heard about. I am the Master from your universe."

She dropped the T-shirt she was holding. She was so shocked she couldn't even move.

He stepped forward. "Don't worry, I am not that man anymore."

"How?" she asked with a weak voice.

"The Doctor. He saved me. Right now I am doing something that is right but I almost brought the end of time to the Earth."

"Rassilion?" She could see shock in his eyes now.

"He told you about Rassilion, too?"

"Yes, he did, but how?" It was too much for her. Way too much.

"There was this sound in my head. Never-ending drums. But that isn't important. I killed Rassilion and took the Time Lords back to the time lock. But I ended up in this universe. Without my sound of drums. And I met the Doctor here."

"So... how does that make you good?"

He smiled like a mad man. "Don't you see it, Rose? I am nothing without the drums! But as long as I have the Doctor, I have something to live for."

There was an awkward pause when she picked up the T-shirt she had dropped. She knew she could trust him. Ann did. But still she needed to be careful.


	5. I pity him

"So please, can you help me save him? I need him. I will be nothing without him. I need the Doctor."

She was pretending she was looking at the clothes. She couldn't look at him. Not now. She still couldn't believe what he had said to her. She looked at the shirt she was holding. It didn't look special. It was just simple a yellow T-shirt with short sleeves.

"You can try it."

She looked at him. He was smiling.

She nodded and took black trousers she had seen before. "Turn around and don't peek," she said to him a bit threateningly.

"Okay." He withdrew, raising his hands and turning around. She started to dress but she was still watching him.

"I will try to save him, but I don't really know what's wrong. What's wrong with him? What happened?" she asked, suddenly interested. He was about to look at her. "Not just yet," she told him before he looked at her.

"There was a war between the Dalek race and the Time Lords. I am sure you know about it. We fought there against our own race, trying to take down Rassilion. He won the war and the Doctor was found guilty of treason. They didn't know that I was helping him... basically, I didn't even exist there."

She stepped in front of him so she could see his face. He had a serious face. "What happened then?" she asked.

"Well, they found every living member of his family. They killed all of them slowly and they made him watch how they suffered. Don't ask me how because it was too horrible. But this is why he is so bad, Rose. He is just getting through lots of pain." Rose found herself crying. The Master was very close to her and his eyes were filled with sorrow. He reached for her face and wiped away one of her tears.

"And what about Ann?" she asked breathlessly. "How can be she alive?"

"That is another punishment for the Doctor. Her mother and father were killed by Rassilion. And so was her beloved twin brother. They wanted the Doctor to suffer more so he has to look at her every day, knowing how much pain he has brought to her. It's the worst thing Rassilion could have done." She started to cry even more. She couldn't stop it.

"I pity him," she said after some time. "I pity the Doctor because no one should go through this. It's not fair. What will we do?"

"We need to take down Rassilion. But the Doctor won't help us. He is scared of losing Ann." He was looking right into her eyes, so she looked away.

"I will help you." She still had some tears on her face so she wiped them away. "What will we do to him?"

"We need to lock him in the time-lock." She was looking at a not interesting piece of clothing behind the Master.

"How will we do that?" She had heard about the time-locks but she didn't really know how they work.

"We need to create the Moment." She had no idea what he was talking about. "Just trust me. We can do it."

"What should we do now?"

"We will wait for him to find us."

"What... why?"

He looked a bit amused.

"Because we can't hide forever. And he would find us anyway, so let it be easier for him." She couldn't speak, that was how shocked she was. "We need to get him out of the way and he won't stop until he finds you."

"What does he want from me?" They were still standing in the same place. Not moving, just speaking. She was still looking into his eyes and she was hypnotized by them. She wanted to look away but she couldn't; she was just looking into them.

"He wants you for the Family. They told him where and when he to look for a blond girl. They didn't say more. We didn't know your name, we didn't know why we should look for you. They just said you are important and dangerous for the Time Lords and that they want your head." She didn't move.

She was just listening.

"What is the Family?"

"It's a Family of Rassilion's. They rule Gallifrey."

"The monarchs of Gallifrey want me?" She didn't have to pretend how surprised she was.

"Looks like it." He was so close to her. She could touch him if she wanted to. Her Doctor had said his goodbyes, so she could do anything she wanted to. He wouldn't mind, but could she forgive herself? Could she do it?

She looked away. She knew it will always be the Doctor. Her Doctor.

 

"So where do we want him to find us? And when?" she asked, but she didn't look at him.

"Well, I think he will be in the control room soon because he won't find you in the wardrobe." She could hear how disappointed he was.

"So we should go then," she said and she went to the control room, with the Master following her.

The Doctor was there, looking around and waiting. "Here you are, Master! And you found her. That's good!" The way he was smiling made her dizzy. "Off we go then," the Doctor said and started to wander around the console. The Master and Rose were standing in their places.

"What?" the Doctor asked, obviously a bit confused.

"I'm sorry, but she is not going to the Family," the Master said in response.

"Why shouldn't she? What the hell is happening?" He was just standing there, looking at her with hatred. "You did that to him! It's all because of you, isn't it? What, did you fall in love, Master?" he asked snidely.

"She wants to help you. Let us help you!" The Master was desperate. "Please!"

"No!" the Doctor said. "I have lost enough."

"So be it," the Master said and walked over to him. Rose couldn't see what he was doing, but the Doctor fell to the ground. "Sorry, my friend."

"What have you done to him?! You killed him!" She hoped it wasn't the truth.

"No, Rose, calm down. He is just sleeping." He pointed at a blue patch at his neck. "It's one of the mood patches. Nothing to worry about."

"What will we do with him now?" she asked when she moved nearer to him.

"Well, we will move him somewhere where he can't hurt anyone. I have to make a safe room for him. He will not be very happy when he wakes up," the Master said and started to type something to the computer.


	6. I am so sorry...

"Have you done it yet?" she asked after a while. "I think he is waking up..." He was moving his fingers a bit.

"Just a second. I need to add the door to the control room so we would be able to control him if he is alright. And it would be much easier to move him." The Master was typing codes very quickly. He stopped and turned to her. He moved to her and took the Doctor's arms. "Hold his hands so we can move him before he wakes up." As he said that, the Doctor moved his head, saying something for himself. Rose couldn't understand it but the Master obviously could because he whispered back something.

"Gallifreyan?" she asked and the Master nodded. They went to the door of Ann's room. "Why are we taking him to Ann's room?" She was nervous, but she had no idea why.

"It's not the door to Ann's room. It's the door to any room in the ship you want it to be. It's the bridge between the control room and the rest of the ship." He smiled and let go of the Doctor's arms. After he opened the door, he took his arms again.

The room was bigger than Rose thought it would be. It was all white. There wasn't much furniture. There was a bed that looked like a big white block with a folded blanket at the place where the head should be. There was a small cube and a bigger one next to it, too. The cubes looked like a table and a chair. Nothing more was there.

"That's all?" Rose asked. "Won't he be bored?"

"That's all he can have. If we had anything else here, he could try to escape, or worse, hurt himself."

"What about the corners?" She was a bit concerned about the corners because they looked sharp. They put the Doctor on the bed.

"They are safe. Look." The Master banged the corner of the bed which had looked perfectly sharp just a minute ago, but now she could see there an imprint of his hand.

"What... This is amazing!" The corner was regaining its shape again.

"What is happening?" the Doctor asked, puzzled. He looked at the Master and then at Rose.

"Where the hell am I? Why the hell is she so close to me? Master? Explain to me why she isn't with the Family now?" He tried to sit but the Master pushed him back.

"I am so sorry, my friend, but I had no choice. Sorry." The Doctor was still a little confused but he was beginning to understand.

"You betrayed me?" he asked angrily. "How could you?" Rose was looking at the Doctor and then at the Master and she kept quiet.

"I had to. I want your old self back. Bye now." He turned and went to the door and Rose followed him. They were at the door when the Doctor took her shoulder.

"If I have to be in here, you will stay with me, Sweetheart," he said and she froze.

The Master turned around and looked at the Doctor's hand on her shoulder. "Let her go," he said with pretended calm.

"Why should I? I have no reason to do it. I don't have to listen to you. I can lose everything if you fail in your mission."

"Because we are not going to fail!" He smiled just a bit. "We are going to take down Rassilion. We can do it. Just trust me, and let her go." Rose was looking in the Master's eyes, which made her calm. She knew he would rescue her, though she didn't know where the feeling came from. She hadn't even trusted him a while ago, but she did now.

"I don't believe you!" he cried and the pressure on her shoulder eased. "I don't wanna lose her, too. I have to protect Ann!"

"We will protect her, don't worry." He took the Doctor's hand gently and pulled it away from Rose's shoulder. "She will be alright, I promise." He took her hand. His hand was nice and warm. He opened the door behind him. He let Rose out, still looking at the Doctor.

"Bye," he said and let himself into the control room. He closed the door and she hugged him. She placed her head on his shoulder. "We had to do it," he said and she nodded.

She wanted to be with him like that forever. She didn't want to think about anything. She just wanted to stand here, safe in his arms.


	7. Only one heart beating

He was holding her head in his hands and they were looking each other into the eyes. He was getting even closer to her and she wasn't protesting. She could feel his heartbeat. She could feel his breath on her skin. Their noses were touching. They were standing there, really close to each other, ready to kiss when they heard familiar voice.

"What the hell is happening in here?" Ann asked. "And where is my dad?"

They separated in that moment. Rose was looking at Ann with guilt, the Master was looking at her, a bit angry.

"The Doctor is locked up. He won't get out. Not any time soon anyway," Rose said. "Can we go see my mum first? She must be scared to the bones." The Master nodded and started to dance around the console, pressing the buttons and pulling leaves.

Rose watched him for a while and Ann got closer to her. She was standing by her side. She was a bit taller than Rose.

"Why?" she asked.

"Why what?"

"You love the Doctor but still you were about to kiss the Master. Why?"

"I dunno. I suppose he is just...I don't know. He is the kindest person I have met in months."

Ann nodded. "You don't know him. You don't love him. You know that, don't you?"

Her cheeks burned red. "I don't know what I should think. I just...I don't know." She was still looking at the Master.

"Quite right."

The Master pulled some lever and came to them. "We have another hour or two now."

"So what shall we do?" Rose asked.

"We should create the Moment. Prepare it for battle with Rassilion," Ann said and Rose and the Master looked at her, surprised.

"You know how?" The Master asked. "Why didn't you say it sooner?"

"I don't know it but the TARDIS does. And you never asked. I never found it important."

"Bollocks! It is important!" he shouted and Rose placed her hand on his arm to calm him down a bit. "How will we make it?"

"We've got to go to the TARDIS' workshop, where the components are that we need for building the moment." She turned around and walked to the door to the corridor.

"Can we leave the console like that?" Rose asked and the Master nodded.

"Nothing will happen. It will navigate itself now."

Rose realized that she was still holding his arm so she put her hand down and followed Ann with the Master behind. They walked through the corridors for few minutes when they stopped in front of big metal door.

She saw one like this in the other TARDIS but the Doctor never told her what was behind it. When the Master opened the door, she could see why. Guns and their parts were everywhere. There were many metal parts of unknown origin and many more things she couldn't even describe or recognize. She hated the guns and the Doctor knew it. She had wondered many times if he hated them because she did, or because of his own reasons.

And there weren't just guns. There were other things like sonic screwdrivers, laser screwdrivers or even head of tin dog like K-9!

"Here it is." Ann pointed to the corner. There was some weird stuff in there. She recognized a hairdryer, a coffee machine and a vacuum cleaner. Other things were too weird and too unrecognizable for her.

"What will we do with this stuff?" the Master asked before she could open her mouth to ask. "There is nothing important about it."

"And that is exactly what is important about it!" Ann said overexcitedly.

"We need average things to build so powerful weapon?" The Master couldn't quite believe it but Rose did.

Rose had seen what the Doctor could do with more ordinary things than these. He did great things with normal screwdrivers, but after all, it wasn't ordinary at all. And his amazing blue box, which looked so ordinary and so unimportant, until you opened the door and discovered all its wonders. Since she met the Doctor, nothing seemed ordinary or average anymore. Nothing at all.

"So what will we need to do?" she asked.

"We need to build a machine from parts of these things."

"Why can't we just use a De-mat gun?" the Master asked.

"We can. But the De-mat gun creates the Moment for bigger places. We would need to put a galaxy into the Time Lock."

"That would work," the Master said and Rose was staring at him, puzzled.

"You would destroy a galaxy just to use the De-mat gun and not to use the way that is safer? You can do much better than this…" Rose said. "I though you'd changed. I guess I was wrong." She turned away from him and he touched her arm.

"Sorry. I didn't realize that. I am still just learning how to be better." He made her look at him. "I've changed, but I still need time…"

She nodded and turned to Ann. She was holding some pieces of stuff in both her hands and staring at them.

They were close together and the Master was still holding her arm. She put it down. When Ann realized that she was staring, she looked down at her hands folding the machine they needed.

"How can I help?" Rose asked, sitting down opposite Ann.

"Just pass me this green thing," she said, looking at her hands with the item. She picked up the green round thing and passed it to her.

"Not this one, I need the square one," Ann said without looking at thing she was passing her.

Rose looked for the green square but she couldn't see it. She lifted other things to look for it but it wasn't anywhere. ""Well? You've got it?"

She noticed that the Master was standing next to her. She looked up into his face and he smiled, passing her the little green thing. She didn't notice when he picked it up.

She passed it to Ann. "Now that little silver box." There were a few silver boxes so Rose picked the smallest one and passed it to Ann.

She installed it on her little invention and picked up a little display which was on the side and stood up. Rose stood up too and came closer to Ann so she could actually see it.

The Master was standing by Ann but on the other side.

She pressed a few buttons and there appeared some numbers and letters on the display. They organized into a sign:

\- - - Prepared in 300 minutes - - -

"What does that mean?" Rose asked, a little bit confused.

"It means that we need to wait 5 hours 'til it's ready. It takes some time for it to get charged," the Master said. "We need to think of some plan until then."

"What is going to charge it?"

"The Time Vortex," said Ann and the Master in one second and in the other the TARDIS jerked and all of them fell down.

"What the…" the Master started and he ran out of the room with Rose and Ann following him.

They ran back to the console room but they could see smoke few meters in front of the console room.

They all stopped and the Master turned to them. "I need to land the TARDIS, you will stay here and be careful about the smoke." He turned around and walked to the console.

He pressed some buttons for an emergency landing and he held a handkerchief in front of his face.

"What happened?" Rose asked, still standing in the place he left them.

"I don't know. The engines must be overloaded," Ann said without looking at her.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I suppose he forgot to press some button. He should stay in the control room."

Rose smiled when she remembered how horrible a driver the Doctor was. He was used to being late to any event they wanted to go to. But it was still an adventure. She had had fun with him. Lots of fun. She just wished that he was here with her now. She wanted to have him by her side. But it wasn't possible. She could never travel to her old world.

The Doctor said that the Time Lords did know how to travel into the parallel worlds but when they all died, all that knowledge died with them…Suddenly she thought of something.

"Ann?" she asked quickly. "Is it possible to travel into the parallel world? Could we get into my old world?"

"Yeah…maybe. I suppose." Ann nodded, now looking at her. They were standing a few steps from the smoke. The TARDIS jerked again. They fell down in the corridor.

"All right there?" the Master shouted.

"Yeah, we are all right," Rose answered and turned back to the Ann.

"Why would it… Wait the minute… You want to... But you can't! You can't just jump to other universe!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Rose asked, desperate. "I need him! I need to get back to the Doctor. You know that I love him. Please, help me!"

 

Ann hugged her. It reminded her of the Doctor. He used to hug her that way. A lonely tear rolled down her cheek. She couldn't help it, but she started to cry.

All this stuff was just opening old wounds. Wounds that hadn't been healed yet. Ann gently caressed the top of her head. "That's all right," she whispered. "You will be OK. I will help you."

Rose nodded. "It's all right, I've got it." She pulled away from Ann and wiped the tears away. "I'm ok. Really I am. Thanks," she said and turned around. There wasn't almost any smoke in the control room so she stepped in there. She didn't see the Master anywhere.

She walked around the console and there she found him. Lying on the ground, unconsciousness.

"Ann! I think I will need your help over here!" Rose shouted and checked the Master. He was breathing, but with only one heart beating.

"What is it?" she asked and when she saw the Master she shook her head. "I knew it was a bad idea!"

"He has only one heart beating."

"I know. It is because of that gas. It is deadly when you breathe it in for too long."

Rose looked at the Master, worried. "But….He is going to be all right, isn't he?"

Ann was frowning and she shook her head. "Yes. I mean…I don't know. We've really got to get his second heart beating and then we will see."

"And how do you wanna do that? How do you wanna get his second heart beating?"

"You will see, Rose." Ann smiled and walked to the computer, pressing some buttons. The little box fell down right next to her. "Open it."

Rose lifted the box. It was a bit too heavy for its size. "What's inside?" she asked but she didn't wait for the answer. She opened it. Inside was a big black cube with one cable coming out of it. She took it out and she held it in her hands, not knowing what to do with it.

Ann sat opposite her. "Can you give it to me?" Rose handed the cube to her.

Ann took a needle out of her pocket and connected it with the end of the cable. Then she put it aside and she unfastened the Master's clothes. They could see his muscular chest.

Ann took the needle and connected it with the cable and looked Rose into the eyes for a second. Then she stabbed the needle into the Master's heart.

The black box glowed blue. It was flickering more and more and then the Master opened his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, puzzled, and then he looked at his uncovered chest with a needle sticking out of it. He pulled it out, a bit angry now.

"Why did you use that?" he asked Ann. Rose was still holding the box inside of which had been that cube.

"What is wrong with it? Why shouldn't she use that cube?" Rose didn't understand why he was so angry.

"Because there are many ways to get a Time Lord's heart working, and this is the worst way to do it," the Master answered, still angrily looking at Ann.

"And what is so bad about it?"

"Well, he is terrified."

"Terrified of what?"

"Needles, ok? I'm afraid of needles," the Master said, a bit ashamed. "Happy?" he asked Ann and stood up.

Rose stood up too and she looked at the Master's uncovered chest. She was about to reach out. To touch it.

"What?" he asked. She withdrew her hand.

"Nothing…I was just…" Shy was trying to look away from his chest but she couldn't. She didn't realize that she had gotten so close to him. She looked up to his face and she reached for his chest again.

She started to zip all the buttons on his shirt and jacket. When she was done, she touched his collar to fix it.

"Ehm." She turned to Ann, who was obviously feeling awkward. Rose let go of the Master's collar.

"When will we land?" she asked.

"In about two minutes, maybe less," the Master said and started dancing around the console again.

Ann was smiling kindly. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah, I think so." Rose didn't know what to think anymore. She loved the Doctor. She really did and she wished him to return to her so badly… But the Master was making her feel dizzy and even when she didn't want to, she liked him maybe little bit more than she should. She looked at him again. She liked him much more than she should.

"What is it between you two?" Ann asked. "You two are really annoying. You love your Doctor so why don't you let the Master go, and I will help you find the way to be with him again."

"Why do you care about him so much?" she asked, confused. Ann just looked at her quietly. She didn't move for few seconds when she finally answered.

"Because he is my friend." She smiled. "I just don't want him to get hurt."

"Quite right," she said quietly so Ann couldn't hear it.

"We are landing. You'd better hold on to something," the Master said and they turned to the console. Rose was holding onto it and so was Ann, but on the other side.

"Here we go."

Rose listened to the sound she loved so much. The sound of the TARDIS materializing. The TARDIS jerked for a while and then it all stopped.

They landed.

"How long do I have?" Rose asked as she walked to the door.

"An hour. And may I go with you? I want to see that human world of yours." Ann didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she followed her out of the box.

When Rose stepped out, she stopped surprised. "What is happening?" Ann asked quietly.

"Torchwood," Rose answered, looking at the men with guns standing all around the TARDIS.


	8. Torchwood

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Rose asked angrily, after few seconds. She looked around and she found out that the most of these men were from her unit.

"Pete sent us." Tom, one of the most loyal men in her unit stepped forward. He was a tall man with muscular body. He had nice blue eyes and short, brown, curly hair. She really liked him.

"Why? You want to capture me?"

"No, we have orders to wait here for two men who kidnapped you. Your mum and dad are worried," he said. "They've sent searching teams through the entire world searching for this box and these men."

"I'm fine. And everything is working out very well…"

He didn't let her end the sentence. "They kidnapped you! They got to be locked up!" he insisted.

"No, they don't. I am your boss, and I am saying no!" She looked at the other men. "You all can go now. Tom will get me into the main building." None of the men moved. She didn't understand why.

"I am sorry, Rose, but I have my orders. And they are under my command."

"But…" She didn't know what to say.

"I am so sorry. It was almost year since you were gone. Many things have changed." He smiled sadly. "Months after you went missing, Pete announced you were dead. He had to. And he put me in charge of this unit."

She stood still. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't even move, that was how confused she felt. She was standing in doorstep of the TARDIS, looking at Tom. She didn't know how, but she spoke "Take me to him."

"We have to take the box as well, with the kidnappers of yours. By the way, who is this girl?"

Rose realized that Ann had been standing behind her for some time now. She totally forgot everything that happened. "She is…It's the Doctor." Rose said. She couldn't think of nothing better. If she should give up the Master and Ann, she didn't have any problem with it. But she couldn't let the Doctor walk from the TARDIS. She needed him in that cell, when he will be more useful than anywhere else. By not ruining everything. He was unpredictable.

"Shouldn't the Doctor be a man? Or are you…?" Tom seemed to be puzzled and she had to smile.

"I'll explain later. It's complicated." He nodded and told his men to retreat. They all put their guns down and most of them went away. Only Tom and four other stayed.

"We should get going," Tom said. "My men will take this Doctor and the other kidnapper."

Rose wanted to persuade them not to, but one of them pushed her aside and took Ann. Two of them were holding her now. One on either side. Two others went into the TARDIS.

She tried to fight them, but they were too strong. "What the hell are you doing? Tom! Tell them to let her go, now!" She was angry at Tom, she was afraid what's about to happen now.

She heard a fighting and cries from inside of the TARDIS. Two of the men dragged out the Master, who was trying to fight them off, but he couldn't. They were just too strong together.

"Please, let them go!" she begged him. "They did nothing but their orders, like you have!"

"Yes, and they did what they were asked to do, apparently. We are leaving, Rose," he stated. "You can go with us, or stay here. Either way, we are taking them to Pete, and nothing will stop us." He turned around. He headed to the door followed by the Master and his guards, then Ann with hers and surprisingly, last two soldiers were towing the TARDIS.

She knew what she had to do. What she needed to do. She needed to go with them. If she couldn't stop them, she could go with them, and not let them hurt Ann and the Master.

She stopped in the doorframe. She remembered the Tyler house very well and it had beautiful gardens, which were missing here. Outside of the house was a driveway with one limo and one truck for the TARDIS.

The driveway looked like no one had used it for some time, and the grass in the garden was dead. The weeds were growing where the colorful flowers used to grow. Everything looked quiet and abandoned. She couldn't believe that this was their beloved house.

 

It was her home since she had been stuck here, and now it was gone.

"So are you coming, Rose?" Tom asked. He was standing next to limo, and he was holding the door opened for her.

"Yes, I am. I was just shocked by how wild it grew to be. That's all." She tried to smile but her muscles were feeling stiff. She walked to the car and she got in.

She was quiet for the rest of the way. In the limo were the Master and Ann as well. Two of the soldiers were sitting in the front and she guessed that the rest of them were in the truck with the TARDIS.

They parked under Torchwood Tower and used the lift to get to the floor where her dad had his office.

The inside of the lift changed since she saw it last time. She remembered four yellow walls with silver strips, which had made it look antique. She didn't like it really, but Pete loved it and he didn't want to change it.

She was surprised that he did. It looked more modern. It had metal walls and on the one that was opposite to the door, was a huge mirror. It didn't have any frame. It was just a huge board reflecting everyone in the lift. But something was weird about it.

 

Even Ann was looking at it in concern.

"What is it?" Rose whispered.

"Something is wrong with it. I don't know what, but it looks weird," she answered without looking at her.

"Is it bad or good?"

"Maybe both. I don't know."

"It's a portal," stated the Master who was standing behind Rose. She could feel his breath tickling at the back side of her neck.

"Portal where?" she asked. She was looking into the eyes of his mirror reflection and he smiled.

"I don't know. But I can bet nobody on that base knows. I bet that no one on this base knows that this is a portal." He touched her shoulder gently and whispered to her ear, "So, where are they taking us?"

"To my dad's office. Didn't you listen to them?"

"I had more important things to do." His hand went down her arm and he touched her hand. She turned around and looked into his eyes. She couldn't believe that she was doing this, although, what was she doing? What she wanted to do?

She noticed that all eyes in the lift were watching them. She let go of the Master's hand when Tom spoke. "What is going on between you two?" He looked shocked and puzzled. And she could swear that she seen disappointment in his eyes for a moment.

"Nothing," she answered and the Master added, "It is none of your concern."

Tom shook his head. "All right. I was just asking that's all. By the way, we are here."

The door on the lift opened, and they entered a big hall. She didn't have good memories of that hall. She got out of the lift and touched the place where she had seen the Doctor for the last time. Not in this world, of course, but in the world where she was born. They were holding to the magnetic clamps so they wouldn't fall into the void. And then everything had gone wrong. Her lever slipped, and she had no other choice but to push it back to the right position.

After she did so, she couldn't go back and hold on to the magnetic clamp and she almost fell into the void. But her dad saved her. He jumped into her reality and saved her, but with a horrible price. She would live, but without the man she loved.

"What is it?" the Master standing next to her asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, just memories." She noticed that she was crying. The Master wiped tears from her cheeks.

"You're sure you're ok?"

"Yeah." She tried to smile but she made only some sad grimace.

"Are you coming, you two?" asked Tom. He was standing next to the door to the corridor. They get through the door to the corridor and turned left and after few steps Rose opened one of the doors and entered.

"Rose, it's true! You are alive!" said Pete and sooner than she would realize, he hugged her. But it didn't feel like hug. He was literally squeezing her with arms like he wanted to squeeze the life out of her.

"Yeah, Dad. I can't breathe," she said with a weak voice. And he let her go.

"Sorry, honey. I was just worried about you." He touched her shoulder gently.

"I know…"

They walked across room and sat at the sofa. Tom sat at her right side and Pete at the left. The Master and Ann were sitting at the opposite side, and two guards were standing behind them. Other guards were standing by the doors. They wouldn't get out of here even if they wanted to. She was wondering where the TARDIS was. She was hoping that they didn't get inside. She didn't want them to hurt the Doctor.

"I think we should talk, Rose." She nodded. "I don't know if anyone told you, but you haven't been around for almost year. Many things changed. We had to find a new boss for your team. It's Tom now."

"Yeah, he said that already."

"What happened to you, Rosie? What have you been doing for that year? Your mum is crazy because of fear. She misses you very much."

"How is she? And the baby?"

"She is doing fine. She is in the Torchwood Tower. We live here now, with little Tony. She should be here any minute." As he was talking, one of the doors opened and Jackie walked in.

"Rose?! Are you really here?" Rose stood up and walked to her. "Yes, Mum, I'm here." She hugged her.

"I was worried that you would never come back. I was worried what would happen to you." She was crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm here. I'm fine. Everything is fine." She smiled and wiped tears from her mum's face. Jackie looked behind her, and she ran to the Master angrily and slapped him.

"Why did you take my daughter? Why did you take her away from me?" she shouted at him.

"I'm sorry, but it was the work of the Doctor. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I brought her back! Only a little bit later and I am sorry for that." He was calm even though he had a red print of Jackie's hand on his cheek.

"And where is he? Where is the Doctor? I'd like to speak to him." Pete, who was standing behind Jackie, touched her shoulder gently.

"Jackie, calm down. Please," he whispered her in her ear.

She took a deep breath. "Where is he?" she asked again but not so angrily.

"The Doctor is sitting right there," Tom said and pointed at Ann.

Jackie looked at Ann puzzled. "This is not the Doctor…" she started.

"It is the Doctor. He regenerated." Rose said. "I feel like I should explain everything. Dad, can you please send them away?" She pointed at the guards in the room.

"What for…"

"Don't ask, just do it, please."

"Get out of here, you lot," he said and they left the room. Now there were just a few people inside. Ann, the Master, Rose, Pete and Jackie.


	9. I am his wife

Jackie was staring at Ann as she spoke. "How is this the Doctor? How could he regenerate into a little girl? How could he even regenerate when he should be dead?"

Rose couldn't help but smile at her mother's confusion. She could only guess how weird that would seem to her. She didn't blame her. "First of all, I've been lying to you since we came into the Torchwood Tower. I don't know if I can trust the guards. I don't know if I can trust anyone but you... That reminds me, where is Mickey?"

"He is on a high priority mission right now. He should be back in few days. He will be glad that you came back. He missed you a lot."

"Oh, right, ok. So, I will tell you a story..." They all leaned in as they were listening. "Once upon a time there was a planet named Gallifrey, where there lived one powerful and ancient race called the Time Lords. They had the power to travel in time and space. Everything was fine, because they were here only to watch events happening, not to interfere.

"They were ruled by two powerful men, the founders of the Time Lord society. Omega and Rassilon. Rassilon turned his back on Omega, so he could rule time and the Time Lords on his own.

"Those events led to the Last Great Time war, a war between the Time Lords and the Daleks. They are creatures in metal shields, who have no mercy, no compassion, and their only purpose in life is to destroy all of life.

"And that is where Doctor comes on the scene. He tried to kill Rassilon, who went mad in the war, to prevent him from spreading his sickness into the world.

"In my world, he succeeded. He sealed the Time War in a time lock, so nothing could get in or out from the hell that it was. He sealed there all his friends, his family, everyone he loved.

"But here, he did not succeed. I don't exactly know what happened..."

"I think I will take it from here," the Master said and smiled at her. All eyes were now on him. "I am from the same world as Rose is. And there was a fight from a Time War that I can't tell you about, but as result of the fight, I was send here, into this world.

"I met the Doctor during the Time War, and I decided to help him. During the Time War in my universe I fled, and I regretted it. Also, I didn't have a chameleon arch to hide me as I had the last time."

"Chameleon arch? What is that?" Rose asked and he frowned.

"It is a machine that can rewrite a Time Lord's biology. If I was human, the Time Lords wouldn't be able to sense me. They wouldn't be able to find me.

"But back to the story. I didn't have chameleon arch, so I stayed with Doctor to fight. I wanted to help him. I knew that if he put everyone into a time lock, it would destroy him. So I thought that it would be better if we did something else to stop it. We wanted to kill Rassilon, and we tried to..." She knew that in his mind he wasn't in here with them but in the war he fought in. A tortured look appeared on his face. After few seconds, as if he realised that he wasn't in a war, he smiled with his wonderful smile. She knew that smile. It was just hiding the pain he felt. She had seen that same smile on the Doctor's face too many times.

"We failed," he continued. "Rassilon wanted to punish the Doctor, so he killed all of his family, and he made him watch as they did so. Ann was the only survivor. They let her be as a reminder to the Doctor that he'd lost everything. That they've taken everything from him, so he would remember his place. He had to listen to the Rassilon and his family. He had to do whatever they wanted him to do."

"What has he done to you?" Pete asked. "You tried to kill him, too."

"I was tortured and I almost died. I begged them to finish me. I begged them to kill me. But they wouldn't. They wanted me to suffer, so they let me live."

Rose sat next to him and hugged him without a word. She wanted to comfort him. To ease his pain he felt. She caressed his back gently. She stayed like that for a moment and then she let go of him. She straightened.

"Rose, where is the Doctor then? Is he dead?" Jackie asked carefully.

"No, he is not dead. He is in the TARDIS. He went mad after they killed his family. He listens to Rassilon because he wants Ann to live. Unfortunately, I am the one he wants, and he couldn't bear that I am free and not locked up. He wanted to kill himself so Rassilon would think that I did it and Ann would be safe...

"What was happening in here while I wasn't here? I heard that I have a brother, but any other news?" She smiled.

"Lots of things happened in the past year, after they kidnapped you." Pete glanced at the Master. "We had teams out looking for you all over the world. But we couldn't find you. After an election of a new president, she came to me, that..."

"She?!" He ignored her.

"She came to me and said that if I found you and caught those who kidnapped you, I'd better call her so she could look into their spaceship. She wants this technology. I don't know why but she does. I promised her that I would call her when I found you."

"And did you?" the Master asked.

"Did I what?"

"Did you call her? Does she know we are here?"

"Yes, I send her a message. She should be here any minute now... Why? What's wrong?"

The Master stood up and started to walk from one side of the room to the other. "What is her name?"

"Elisabeth Saxon."

"She is here. She is here for me," he whispered. There was fear in the Master's eyes. Rose didn't see fear in his eyes before. Not fear like this. "Rose, Ann, we've got to get away. Where is the TARDIS?"

"In the basement, but..."

"Tell your men to move it as quickly as you can. Move it into your house and guard it. When she comes, tell her we've fled."

"But, where are you going?" Pete had a puzzled look on his face.

Rose didn't understand why the Master was so upset about that woman. She knew her as a politician, and she didn't believe that that tiny old woman would be dangerous. It seemed insane.

"We have to get away. She isn't who you think she is. She is dangerous."

"Who is she, then?"

She didn't see her enter, but when she looked at the door, as her dad did, she was standing there looking at them and smiling. "I am his wife."


	10. The Preparations

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you have a wife?" Rose asked staring at Elizabeth. She spoke sooner that he would manage to open his mouth.

"Because he is a liar and coward that's why. Why should he tell you anything anyway? You are not special at all." She moved her attention at the Master. "And you, where have you been all the time? Chris should not be growing up without his father." The Master wanted to say something but she didn't let him. "Don't speak! How many women have you done this to? How many women did you lie with and left them alone right after?! How many women are you going to treat this way?!"

He was looking down on his feet. "It is not how you think it is."

Rose could hardly believe this. He seemed such a nice guy. She trusted him and he had children with other women. And he didn't even deny that.

"And how is it like, can you tell me please? Because I don't get it! You have beautiful son at home and instead of spending some time with him, you are running about with some… young… sluts…"

A buzz carrying disagreement spread across the room. "Who are you to say such things about my child?!"

"Don't you see the way he looks at her? He wants her!" She smiled with the smile without an emotion "He will not have her. Honey, we are going home!"

"No!" Rose said immediately, without thinking. Masters head rose. "You can't take him now! We have important work to do!"

"Really, is that what he told you? He is a liar!"

"But…We have to stop Rassilion! We have to…"

"Eli, you've waited for so long, can't you wait a bit longer?" the Master put in.

"I had waited over a year! You can't imagine how was it like! And If you think, I will let you fly away in that machine of yours, you are wrong. I will not do this mistake again!" She sighted "I am going with you."

"No way. So you would steal the most secret inventions of Time Lords for your Torchwood? I will not allow it!" He stepped a bit closer and his voice softened. "Why would you want to go anyway? You got to stay with Chris. It is dangerous. He needs at least one parent."

He closed the distance between them. "Please, stay here."

"I am angry with you, you know?" She was looking on the ground. "I know I was horrible the last month you were home, but try to understand, that I was pregnant and to be elected."

"Eli, you've threatened to kill me if you saw me again. What should I think?"

"It was a long time ago!" They were close enough to touch.

He caressed her cheek "Not for me. Time traveler, remember?" He smiled.

"Yes."

"Ehm, guys?" Rose put in.

Both of them looked her way. "What?" they asked.

"I don't mean to disturb, but we should go. All should be prepared. I want to talk to the Doctor as soon as possible."

"The Doctor?" Eli asked.

"An old friend. I promise, I'll be back soon." He kissed her on a cheek.

"Please don't go." She whispered.

"I have to."

"Then come back soon, please. I won't bear another year without you. I loved you." She kissed him to prove her statement.

"What was that?" Rose asked inside of the TARDIS.

"What was what?" He had puzzled face on.

"Elizabeth. You were pretty scared of her in one minute and you are kissing her right after."

"Are you jealous?" He smiled, but when he noticed that she was serious, his smile faded. "She was a part of one project the Familly set us up for."

"Why?"

"I would prefer not to talk about it. Ann should be in here any minute now. It will take us a while to get to our destination trough. It will all end soon."

She gazed into the distance. "But not soon enough…"

"I've got it." Ann said holding a weird device in her hands. "I think I'd better explain to you how it works, Rose." She didn't wait for Rose to step closer and she started talking.

"You push this one here when we will park the TARDIS. It will activate the Moment inside of this pen. The countdown is set for an hour. After that, the Time Lock will be created within 2 kilometers from where you'll put it. Get it?"

Rose nodded. She started to be nervous little bit. She always did when she was about to have an adventure like this. She missed that tickling feeling at her gut. She missed the Doctor. Her Doctor.

"The bad thing is, that we have to get as close as possible to Rassilion, so we have an hour to go to the Rassilion and back so we could flee."

"And aren't they gonna chase after us?"

"It is a good question, but no. They will stay at their places. The family trusts us enough not to control us."

"But why do I have to go near to the Rassilion? Can't we just put it near to his house and leave?" Ann shook her head.

"Because we need to be certain that he will be timelocked."

"What if I didn't make it into the TARDIS on time? What then?" She asked, but she knew what the answer was going to be like. And she knew she wasn't going to like it.

"I am sorry Rose… We wouldn't have other choice."

"Yeah I understand." She said with weak voice.

"You are better making it on time." The Master said from the console.

"Are you going with me?"

"I will. The Master has to stay here." Ann said. "I suppose that's all. I will take you past guards as near to Rassilion as we will need. " Rose nodded her understanding. "I will go to see my dad. I wanted to talk to him before we will go." She said while she was standing up.

"Ok. He will be all right soon." She turned at the Master.

He was standing at the console, touching buttons, pulling the levers, not paying attention to them. There was something about him that made her feel scared and amazed at one moment. He was almost like the Doctor. Almost.

"Rose?" He said without even looking from his work. "Could you help me please?"

"Yeah, sure. What can do?" She asked as she stepped closer.

"I need you to hold this button for a sec." he showed her big red button. She pressed it.

"So, Elizabeth, are you going to leave her after we will be done?" She asked him with a concern.

"No. I can't. I know that I have been ordered to be with her. But we have a child. I have some responsibilities I cannot leave." He smiled sadly "It seems that I will be the man I never thought I will be."

"And do you want to have this life?"

"I don't know. I have to, I suppose. What about you? How do you see your life after this? You don't need to hold down that button."

She let go of the button. "I don't know. Get back to the Torchwood I suppose. Work there, see some old friends and try to survive day after day without my Doctor." Her voice broke.

"You will have this Doctor. Maybe if you'll just talk to him…"

"NO!" she objected "No…He is not the same man. This is not the Doctor I know. This is not the Doctor I love. He doesn't even know me." Her eyes started watering.

The silence fell on the room for a minute. Only noise she could hear was clicking and humming that the TARDIS made.

The Master broke the silence, at last. "What if I told you, that there is a way you could see him?"

"What?!" She was almost sure he is teasing her. Maybe he wanted her to make feel better about herself because of what she was going to do.

"It really does exist. Time Lords in this word are much more mature. They have the equipment that allows us to travel between the words. It is only just a prototype but…I think it would work."

"Please, tell me that you are not kidding."

"I am not. We can try to construe such a thing. They won't get us to see that technology nor will they tell us the details. But I think the Doctor knows about it. He has much information. He might help you."

"Oh, thank you Master! Thank you." She said as she was hugging and kissing him. "I can't thank you enough! I have some hope after all!"

"You just did, my dear." He was smiling. "What about you get some rest? You seem to be very tired, and I promise that I will wake you up when we'll arrive."

She nodded as she was yawning. "I think too that I need some rest."

"Go to the corridor. Fourth door on left should do it." He said and she left. "Sweet dreams, Rose."


	11. Happy endings are for Losers

When she woke up, she felt fresher than ever before. The room she was staying in was big, with three huge windows looking down on the city. She knew that it is only an illusion created by the TARDIS, but she liked that view.

She liked how the room was furnished. There was a big bed in the middle of the room with canopy of red color. There was a table and a chair and some cabinets. It was simple. Much simpler than the task lying ahead of her.

She wanted to have a shower, but she decided that she will have a shower after she will be over with Rassilion.

Out if the room, on the hall she found Ann that smiled when she noticed her.

"How is the Doctor?"

"Pretty bad. He doesn't like that he is imprisoned. He wanted me to free him."

"But you didn't, did you?"

"Of course not. We'd better go to the control room. We will be there soon. At the Rassilion estate." As she spoke it, TARDIS started landing.

"So, see you later. I will be here, prepared if you will need me." The master said and they went out of the door.

Rose had to put her hand in front of her eyes because of the bright light that was waiting for her outside.

They landed in front of the gate guarded with the soldiers. They moved out of the way so they could pass. They didn't even look at them.

Behind the gate was something she could compare to one of the castles she saw back at home, on earth. She was even invited to live in one of them some time ago. On the court of Dracula.

As they were walking on the hallways, the stuff of the castle was bowing, touching ground with their noses as they passed by.

"What will happen to thin stuff? Do they need to be in the time lock?" She asked when they passed another bowing boy.

"Rose, if this is going to work out, we have to put everyone into the time lock. Including them."

"But most of them are only children!" She argued.

"I wouldn't be so sure." She paused as they passed by another group of servants. "Most of them are older than you could think."

"But still…" She didn't let her finish.

"Rose, we can't. The Rassilion is our priority." She sighted. "I don't like it any more than you do but still…How much time do we have?"

She looked at her watch. "About forty minutes. How long until we will get there?"

"Few minutes… Rose, there is a possibility, that I will need to stay in there, let you escape." She said.

Rose stopped. "No way! I will not leave you here!"

Ann turned around and touched her shoulder. "You might not have other choice."

"But the Doctor…It would hurt him."

Ann took her face into her hands "He will have you to look after him. Promise me!"

"No…"

"Promise me!"

"I can't..."

"Rose, you may need to leave me there and you will. I know you are very important person and you can't die or be stranded in here! Promise me that you will leave me if you had to. Please."

"Ok I promise, but…"

"No but. If you did it, tell dad that I love him." Rose swallowed and nodded.

Ann turned around and continued in her way. "Come on, it is just a bit."

They stopped at the big door. Ann pushed it opened.

Behind the door, the people were all about the room. Standing and sitting. Some of them were talking, some were writing and some were just gazing into the distance. Except one. On the huge chair, there was sitting an old man, who was looking directly at her.

"We were waiting for you, Rose." He smiled. "Can I offer you anything? Tea or cake?"

She shook her head.

"As you wish."

"What do you want from me?"

"Should I want something from you?" He laughed "Oh Rose, You have lots of things yet to learn."

She looked at the Ann that was as puzzled as her.

"Please sit. He offered them a sofa near to him."

"No." both of them shook their heads.

"As you wish."

"So what will you do now?" Rose asked. His gaze was making her feel uncomfortable. "Are you going to kill me?"

He laughed "Kill you? Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know. What else?"

"I want you to be my wife, Rose."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't find the right words. "You want what?!" She said after few moments.

"I want to marry you, Rose Tyler."

"And if I'll say no?"

"I can give you a week. Think it through."

"But what if I'll say no?"

He frowned. "I don't know why would you, but if you did," He leaned in "your family will suffer the consequences." He smiled "But why should we bother with that? We know you are clever enough not to do that."

She was standing there, speechless, looking at him with her mouth opened.

"Hey you, show her where her rooms are." He said to one of the people sitting on the chair. He bowed and took her by arm.

She looked at Ann that nodded. She was sure that if she got to the TARDIS on time, the Master, she would be able to get her out maybe. She hoped that it would work.

The servant led her out of the room on the hallway. She could hear Rassilion talking to Ann in the language she couldn't understand. She moved her attention to the servant leading her way.

"Would you mind if we went to the place I came from? I wanted to take some of my stuff from the TARDIS." She didn't how else she could get out of that mess without a guide. It seemed that it worked.

"Yeah, but you have to promise me that it'll be quick." He said and he led their way.

She saw one table and she put the pen on it. She was careful not to be seen by anyone.

She looked at the watch. They had ten minutes. She worried if they will make it on time, but the way back seemed to be a bit shorter and they were at the TARDIS in almost no time.

"It will be minute, wait in here." She said as she was opening the door but the servant was ignoring her, and followed her inside.

"Rose! I was worried you won't…who is this?" The Master had puzzled look on.

"I was assigned to see to the needs of Rose Tyler."

The Master smiled. "All right then, let me show you my machine." She couldn't understand why he was so calm. The guy could destroy everything.

But then, when the master closed the distance, he hit him unconscious with smile on his face.

"You are crazy." She smiled as he was dragging him into some room in the TARDIS.

"Where is Ann?" He asked and her smile faded.

"She was with Rassilion. She told me to leave her there, but I knew that if I reached you on time, we could save her. Please, can you do anything? A teleport or… something?"

"Oh yeah, I can." He said with enthusiasm. I have this thing that will swap us.

"Swap you? You mean…" She started but he didn't let her finish.

"Good bye Rose, it was nice to meet you. And I suppose, this is the end." He was smiling. He didn't look scared or angry, but happy. He was happy. She couldn't understand.

"Master!" She wanted to close the distance between them, but she saw the bright light, and when it faded, Ann was on his place, on her knees, with her hands covering her face, crying.

"Don't do this…Please." She was crying. Rose hugged her.

"You are all right. What happened?" She wanted to know, but Ann was too shaken to answer so she was just holding her, caressing her hair.

TARDIS started dematerializing. The Master had to have everything worked out.

At last, Ann calmed down. "He was angry with me. I don't know why. He just was." She was still sobbing.

"It's all right now. You are safe from him now. It's over now." Rose whispered as the tear rolled down her cheek.

"Where is the Master?"

"He saved you, but he had to sacrifice himself." She inhaled. She was trying to keep calm, but it was impossible. "He's gone, Ann. He's gone."


	12. Epilogue

_17th October 2009_

_On the earth, it was a year since the Doctor and the Master have kidnapped me. For me, it was less than a few days._

_In those couple of days, many things happened. I got to know the Master, this version of the Doctor and his daughter, Ann._

_We worked together to end the rule of Rassilion. We succeeded, but we lost the Master. It breaks my heart that he's gone. After all that he's came through, he lost his life in here, in this time, so he could save beloved daughter of his former enemy._

_I am working on one project now. The project, which could let me meet up with my Doctor again.Ann and the Doctor are helping me. They feel that they owe me at least this._

_I hope I will meet my Doctor again. The hope is the only thing that lets me keep going._


End file.
